Operation Moonlight Sonata | Intelligence Analysis and Reporting Intelligence Analysis and Reporting Kurki, Allan W.(1995). Operation Moonlight Sonata: The German Raid on Coventry. Westport, CT: Praeger LOC: 94041798 D760.8.C6 K87 1995 Date Posted: February 14, 2013 On a clear moonlit night in November of 1940, the Luftwaffe used hundreds of bombers, thousands of high explosives and tens of thousands of incendiary bombs to attack the industrial might of England by bombing Coventry. In Operation Moonlight Sonata, Allan W. Kurki analyzes the raid in detail, reviews the actions of both the Germans and the British preceding the raid, and investigates the impact the raid had on British as well as American public opinion. The book also investigates the controversial question of how much advance notice the British actually had concerning the raid. The Coventry bombing proved to be the most concentrated single air attack of the entire Luftwaffe bombing campaign directed against the British during World War II.

Perhaps out of a desire to dramatize the lengths to which the British would go to defend the very secret of Ultra, early writers on the topic spread a story that Winston Churchill knew in advance of a terrible air raid on the British city of Coventry through Ultra decrypts, yet did nothing to defend the city. The story has no foundation in fact, but it shows up so much in the literature of Ultra that it’s worth knowing about. The dramatic dilemma in the story was that Winston Churchill had a terrible decision to make. If the authorities in Coventry were given explicit warning, the Germans might detect that their Enigma messages had been decoded. According to the legend, to protect the Ultra decodes, Churchill ultimately decided that no evacuation order or special warnings should be sent to Coventry. Coventry was in fact wrecked by the attack, with the ancient Cathedral burned down, and over 50,000 houses destroyed or damaged. Records showed 554 fatalities and nearly another 5,000 with wounds and burns. So, according to the tail, Coventry had paid a severe price for keeping the Ultra Secret.

In point of fact, the messages detailing the raid were never decoded in time, and Churchill never faced the dilemma that has been retold so many times. Tragic story, but just another morality tale that made a point so well that it did not have to be based on fact. Several years ago I went to Berlin to present a paper. I visited the Gedächtniskirche (Remembrance Church) in the center of Berlin. This gothic cathedral was bombed out near the end of the war. The ruins have been left as a remembrance of what are the costs of war. There are two crosses inside the room built as a memorial. They are constructed from large spikes used in the construction of Coventry and of this church in Berlin. Author Kurki, in the course of demolishing some widely held but erroneous views of the Coventry Raid, also provides a very interesting survey of the Battle of Britain. He details German Air Force units, weapons and operational plans, British defenses (including electronic), Ultra and other Allied codebreaking capabilities, and brings together a lot of useful information not easily found elsewhere. Like this: Family Tree Researcher available to research your family history!

Coventry Air Raids - Operation Moonlight Sonata Operation Moonlight Sonata, 14 November 1940 (7.15pm - 6.15am) This raid was named Operation Moonlight Sonata because a bright moonlit night was necessary for success. The aim was to totally wipe out Coventry’s war production. It was also from this raid that the Nazi’s created a new word 'Coventrieren' meaning to totally destroy. Almost 500 bombers were gathered together from the German occupied parts of Europe especially for this raid. At 7.10pm, when night had fallen, the sirens sounded. Flares attached to parachutes were dropped, quickly followed by incendiaries. Unlike the regular incendiaries which people had become used to putting out with sand, these contained phosphorus. When the new incendiaries exploded they instantly started so many small fires that putting them out became an impossible task. As many as 30,000 incendiaries were dropped on Coventry during the course of Moonlight Sonata. The aim of these was to create large fires to enable the following bombers to easily locate their target. A short time later the bombers began to arrive.

They dropped around 500 tons of high explosives many of which were directed at the city centre and at civilian houses, rather than military targets. The local population fled to private or public shelters, or even hiding in cellars or under the stairs; wherever they could find any protection. Some air raid shelters were hit and completely demolished. In cases where there were thought to be no survivors the shelters were later sealed and the bodies never recovered. Many citizens stayed with elderly relations who were either unwilling or unable to leave their homes and were subsequently killed in the raid. Coventry Cathedral (St Michaels) The famous cathedral was hit by so many incendiaries that the four fire watchers could not put them out fast enough. Many began to puncture the lead roof and fall onto the wooden ceiling below. Once there they were very difficult to reach and smother. Eventually, due to the large number of incendiaries and the lack of sand, it became obvious that only the fire brigade could now fight the flames. The local fire fighters were already bravely fighting hundreds of fires and could not attend. When fire fighters finally arrived all the way from Solihull, the water supply failed and nothing more could be done.

Whole rows of houses were demolished by landmines; these fiendish creations consisted of a metal case attached to a parachute. Unlike other bombs, the force of the explosion was not directed into the ground making a crater; instead they were designed to explode before they hit the ground causing maximum damage and killing many civilians. Coventry’s tram system never worked again because so much of the track was destroyed and the cost of replacement was prohibitive. When the raid was finally over there was hardly a water or gas main in Coventry that wasn’t destroyed. At least 568 civilians were known to have been killed, but it is possible that as many as 1000 innocent people actually died. Many bodies were never recovered or were unrecognisable. One mortuary was itself bombed, so identification for private burial became impossible. Another problem was that so many workers came from all over the UK to Coventry to work in the factories. If they died in the chaos of the raid, unless they had relations in Coventry to report them missing then they would not have been included in the official death toll figures.

I have been contacted by several people who say they are 100% sure that a relative of theirs was killed in the Coventry blitz, or had relatives who were staying in Coventry at the time but were never heard from again. I have checked local records, and for some people I have been unable to find an official entry for their deaths. This leads me to believe that the death toll has been underestimated. I am compiling a list of possible Blitz victims who have not been officially recognised as such. If you have reason to believe that one of your relatives was killed in the blitz I would be happy to add their name to the list. (Information about the aftermath of Operation Moonlight Sonata , Coventry's most famous blitz air raid, can be found here.) Return to the Coventry Blitz home page. The Coventry Blitz: Moonlight Sonata - Introduction Page 1 Moonlight Sonata - Introduction oventry's long history has been shaped by many events, some bringing prosperity; others misfortune.

Two particular events have, however, had the most dire consequences; the first being the dissolution of the monasteries of the 16th century; and more recently, during World War Two, the air-raid which the Germans named Operation Moonlight Sonata - but which we in Coventry were more familiar with as "The Blitz". This particular air raid was far more indiscriminate and inhumane than anything our city had ever experienced, and although London had already suffered more bombs and casualties during the previous few months of WWII, it was the concentration of the raid on our relatively small town centre that brought this horrific attack on Coventry to the immediate attention of the whole world. The publicity itself was a break from convention; the results of such an attack were usually kept quiet. However, the Ministry of Information chose this occasion to make use of the press to expose the senseless brutality of the Nazis. The reporting of the destruction of so many homes, and especially the cathedral, soon brought scorn on the enemy from all quarters of the civilised world. The night of Thursday 14th November 1940, though, was all about Coventry, its people, and how they dealt with it.

The next few pages will look at the many aspects of how it deeply affected our city - and how, if it hadn't been for an unfortunate error, the raid might even have been foiled. Information for this section was taken principally from the following books: - Air Raid - Norman Longmate Most Secret War - R. V. Jones Coventry at War - David McGrory The City we Loved - Coventry Corporation Moonlight Sonata - Tim Lewis GERMAN AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN OVER GREAT BRITAIN, 1939-1940. (HU 66030) GERMAN AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN OVER GREAT BRITAIN, 1939-1940. 1/1 object name: Aerial photograph (vertical) object category: Black and white Creator All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Object description Vertical aerial reconnaissance view of the centre of Coventry, Warwickshire, annotated with bombing targets.

Photograph taken prior to 'Fall Mondscheinsonate' ("Operation Moonlight Sonata") the heavy Luftwaffe air raid on automotive and aircraft component factories on the night of 14/15 November 1941, which devastated the city centre. Associated people and organisations 8/12/2001 • Reviews , World War II Reviews Operation Moonlight Sonata: The German Raid on Coventry, by Allan Kurki, Praeger Publishers, Westport, Conn., 1995, $49.95. On the night of November 14-15, 1940, German bombers struck Coventry, England, unleashing what has been described as the most concentrated and destructive raid on Great Britain during World War II. A photograph taken of the Coventry cathedral, St. Michael’s, became one of the most famous pictures of the war and a symbol of German ruthlessness. The destruction was so great that the Germans coined a word, “Coventrized,” to describe something they had destroyed.

One of the most popularly held beliefs about the raid is that Prime Minster Winston Churchill and British Intelligence knew about it well in advance but did nothing to protect the city for fear of tipping off the Germans that their secret Enigma code had been broken. That belief is challenged in Operation Moonlight Sonata: The German Raid on Coventry, by Allan Kurki. Kurki believes the Enigma code story is a myth. There were Enigma intercepts prior to the raid, but Kurki contends the information gleaned from them was spotty and never specifically identified when the raid would occur or that Coventry was the prime target. Kurki also notes that Churchill, en route to Oxfordshire on the afternoon of the raid, returned to London after reading his latest intelligence intercepts. A good indication, Kurki believes, that Churchill thought London was the target. The initial destruction was great. Approximately 100 acres of the city were destroyed, 568 people were killed, 1,256 were injured, and 20,000 dwellings were either destroyed or suffered major damage.

The lack of a significant follow-up raid allowed the British an opportunity to recover, and within days the city of Coventry was again producing armaments. Readers who are looking for a book that captures the drama and horror of the German raid will have to look elsewhere. But anyone interested in a scholarly review of the facts will be well served by Operation Moonlight Sonata. Jim Skeen 14th November 1940: Coventry devastated by firestorm November 1940 Coventry bombed – torn apart by firestorm Vertical aerial reconnaissance view of the centre of Coventry, Warwickshire, annotated with bombing targets. Photograph taken prior to ‘Fall Mondscheinsonate’ (“Operation Moonlight Sonata”) the heavy Luftwaffe air raid on automotive and aircraft component factories on the night of 14/15 November 1941, which devastated the city centre. A wrecked bus stands among a scene of devastation in the centre of Coventry after the major Luftwaffe air raid on the night of 14/15 November 1940.

The ‘Blitz’ had never been confined to London alone, other towns and cities had been targeted even before the capital faced sustained assault from 7th September. But a new level in the intensity and destructiveness of a single raid was reached on the night of 14th November. Coventry was to become a byword for the potential of aerial bombing to destroy whole cities. German propaganda would later threaten to “Coventrate” other targets. Over 500 German bombers hit the English midlands town in successive waves over the course of the night of the 14th/15th November. The Germans used pathfinder bombers, guided to the city by directional beams that the British were still struggling to disrupt. Once they had marked the target with flares a combination of high explosive bombs and aerial mines broke open many buildings and disrupted the water mains. When incendiary bombs were added to this mix it was easier for the fires to take hold and soon a self sustaining firestorm erupted, which caused widespread devastation. Around 600 people were killed, an accurate figure was never firmly established.

Alan Wrigglesworth was a schoolboy at the time: On November 14th 1940 the sirens sounded early and the family went down the Anderson Shelter at the rear of next door’s garden. The exceptions were my older sister who was acting as a messenger and my grandmother who refused and insisted on sitting under the stairs. My father (a veteran of 1918) at the time was on nightshift at the Alvis [works] on the Holyhead Road and had already set off on this bicycle to work. The German Aircraft were easy to pick out on the moonlit night apart from the distinct sound of their desynchronised engines. As the raid got worse, my grandmother was persuaded to come down the shelter and our neighbours’ relatives from Berry Street arrived to join us. Around midnight there was a thump on the roof of the shelter ad the adults went outside to put out what turned out to be an incendiary bomb. Meanwhile a stick of bombs fell in the immediate vicinity destroying a block of four houses further down the road and one in the other direction. The glow in the sky and the noise was incredible.

The general feeling was that the Germans were aiming for the Admiralty Ordnance Works in Red Lane and Morris Motors at Courthouse Green. When eventually the ‘All Clear’ sounded we emerged and the family from Berry Street returned home. During the night a delayed action bomb had landed in their garden and during the morning it exploded destroying a block of six houses. No trace of the family was ever found. For a comprehensive study of the attack see Coventry: Thursday, 14 November 1940 . The Coventry raid saw a combination of factors that would be characteristic of other especially destructive bombing attacks later in the war. Almost all of the bombers got through, unhindered by night fighters or ground defences. The attack was accurate and during the early stages hit the electricity and water mains, severely limiting the fire fighting capacity of the city. The mixture of high explosives and incendiary bombs blew apart and set alight the old wooden buildings in the medieval quarter of the city. Once fires started they quickly developed into a self sustaining fire storm, sucking in air which created winds that spread the flames. The raid was closely studied by the British.

Not for the first time would senior RAF officers console themselves by the thought that the Germans had ‘sown the wind’. They fully expected that in due course German cities would ‘reap the whirlwind’. After the war, when the British success in breaking the German Enigma Code was finally acknowledged, the myth grew that Britain had advance knowledge of the raid on Coventry. It was claimed that Churchill deliberately sacrificed the city in order to ensure that the secret of the breaking of the code was preserved. The truth is a good deal more complex but it was never the case that the raid on Coventry was known about well in advance or that a decision was made to leave it deliberately defenceless, see Bletchley Park . Measures to combat night bombing were just not that well developed at that stage in the war. The ancient Cathedral of Coventry was one of the landmark buildings destroyed. The shell of the building remains to this day as a memorial to the bombing. The 14th-century cathedral and surrounding buildings lie in ruins in Coventry, England, on 16 November 1940. BBC - iWonder - What was it like to live through the Coventry Blitz? What was it like to live through the Coventry Blitz?

Written by BBC Cov & Warks Siobhan Harrison Operation Mondscheinsonate (Moonlight Sonata) Helped by the clear skies and bright moon, Operation Moonlight Sonata was the name given to the 11-hour raid which devastated the city. Thousands of homes were destroyed, as was the city's beautiful cathedral. Five hundred and seventy eight people were killed, thousands injured. Later, Hitler's Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels used a new word, coventrieren: to devastate a city. 5pm Getty The pretty small lanes of Coventry before the Blitz. Coventry was once described as the most beautiful and well preserved medieval city in the UK. When war was declared, the citizens thought that there was very little chance of enemy bombers finding the city. The city was in a hollow, filled with fog or smoke from the factories, and believed "Jerry couldn't find us". As early as 1938, before war was declared, shelters were being dug out in gardens. Blackout curtains were made and put up, ARP wardens walked the streets, but for many it was a practice. The war seemed so far away. It was a real moonlit night, a real bomber's moon.

Jesse Smith Getty German bombers taking off from an airfield. The first of 499 German bomber planes with about 30,000 incendiaries are already over the city boundaries. Coventry was a city that was rich with industry; creating planes, cars, ammunition and much more for the war effort. This made it a prime target for German bombers. Many of the factories were located alongside the canal. The clear moonlight reflected in its waters and guided them to the heart of the city. 7.06pm Air raid sirens sound across the city You need to have JavaScript enabled to view this clip. Animation set to stories taken from our own archives, first-hand accounts of the Blitz. Animation by Trevor Woolery Transcript (PDF 253k) For many, going to a shelter overnight was already a nightly ritual. People were used to getting fully dressed and out within three minutes. There were 79 communal air raid shelters, which could accommodate about 33,000 people. However, many chose not to go in shelters, instead opting to take cover in cellars, under the stairs or even under tables inside their own homes. We knew the Germans were coming. That was the signal.

You was frightened, actually frightened. Hazel Keene First bombs start to fall You need to have JavaScript enabled to view this clip. Animation set to stories taken from our own archives, first-hand accounts of the Blitz. Animation by Trevor Woolery Transcript (PDF 251k) People were still making their way to the shelters when the first bombs began to fall. The drone of the planes was almost deafening. The planes overhead flew low and witnesses describe their wings as almost tip-to-tip. Like many cities, Coventry had set up wartime defences around the city boundaries. There were more than 50 barrage balloons and nearly 30 heavy anti-aircraft guns. Not one German bomber was shot down on the night of the Blitz. My mother was crying, but she was mostly upset about the fact she hadn't had time to put her false teeth in. Jean Coles The city is ringed in fire Getty Coventry Cathedral before it was destroyed in the Blitz. Incendiary bombs were dropped around the city, marking out the target. It was said that there were already 200 fires from the first wave of bombers. Incendiary bombs had already fallen on St Michael’s, the city’s cathedral and many places nearby.

Fire watchers bravely fought the flames and fire bombs were put out. But more bombs were dropping. 7.50pm Getty Inside St.Michael's, Coventry Cathedral before it was destroyed in the Coventry Blitz 1940. The main targets for the bombing were the city’s highly-productive factories, such as Alvis, Daimler and Triumph. After several unsuccessful battles to fight the initial incendiary bombs, Coventry's cathedral was ablaze. Along with firemen, the cathedral’s Provost Reverend Richard Howard was fighting the fires trying to save the building from destruction. View of Coventry targets from the German aircraft above. After an hour it was already clear that this raid on Coventry was unusually heavy. Two hundred and forty fires had been plotted by the Central Fire Station in the city centre; all formal records were soon stopped as the fire station itself was hit. Parachute-mines continued to float down over Coventry. Most of the city centre was already on fire. You could see it, the black dot of the bomber and the guns trying to get it. John Huthwaite In the shelters You need to have JavaScript enabled to view this clip.

Audio taken from our own archive, this powerful archive brings to life first-hand accounts of the Blitz. Illustration by Trevor Woolery. Transcript (PDF 256k) Many knew the drill for raids: find a safe shelter. This could be a purpose-built shelter or somewhere 'safe' in your home. Some of the communal shelters were large and held up to 300 people at a time. This was long before the smoking ban and shelters were often fogged in nervous cigarette smoke, cramped with people drinking, singing and even knitting to calm their nerves. Not to mention the sanitary provision of a communal latrine, in the form of a bucket. 8.35pm ARP warden on the phone (Sheffield). Fires could already be seen from more than 20 miles away in Birmingham. The heavy explosive bombs had cut off gas supplies to the city. Telephone and telegraph wires had been broken and communications across the city had become incredibly difficult. Messenger boys carried information across the city, firstly on bikes and then on foot as it became too difficult to get through the rubble. 10:40pm Holy Trinity’s church clock stops. Women look up at the cathedral spire which remained unharmed.

Holy Trinity Church's clock had stopped. The church stands beside St Michael’s (Coventry Cathedral). While firefighters fought desperately to fight the flames in the cathedral, its tower and the clock within it remained unharmed and continued to chime into the night and the following morning. Many in the vicinity could hear the chimes, leading them to believe the cathedral had survived the bombing. 11.05pm Nothing more could be done Getty Coventry, a city destroyed by the Blitz. The water supplies were drying up. The River Sherbourne was being used, the canals had been hit by bombs and their waters were running empty. Those who had fought for four hours to save the cathedral realised with deep regret that nothing more could be done. The fire was too fierce and dangerous to fight; instead many items were being rescued. Sadly, marriage certificates dating back to the 17th Century were destroyed. The city burnt and the mother church burnt with her Coventry Cathedral Provost, Reverend Richard Howard 1am A great glow in the sky You need to have JavaScript enabled to view this clip. Audio taken from our own archive, this powerful archive brings to life first-hand accounts of the Blitz. Illustration by Trevor Woolery.

Transcript (PDF 207k) The bombing continued. The city was well alight; many neighbouring towns and cities could see it burning, a great glow in the sky. The burning city made it even easier for the continued approaching bombers to see their target. German bombers later said that they could feel the heat and smell the smoke in the cockpits; they were flying at 6,000 feet above the burning city. 1.40am Lucky Escapes You need to have JavaScript enabled to view this clip. Audio taken from our own archive, this powerful archive brings to life first-hand accounts of the Blitz. Illustration by Trevor Woolery. Transcript (PDF 248k) More than 43,000 homes were damaged or destroyed on the night of the Blitz. Many people had to be evacuated during the night to other places of shelter for safety. Afterwards, the Germans claimed they had dropped more than 500 tonnes of explosives on the city and that their airmen could see the glow of the fires from the coast. Coventry is the most inland city in the UK.

3.45am They looked like they were sleeping Getty A Coventry street lined with bomb damaged buildings, a car has nose-dived into a crater after an air-raid. The high-explosive bombs that were being dropped across the city were causing devastation. There were 503 tonnes of bombs dropped on the city. The power of the explosions alone were enough to destroy buildings. A total of 2,306 houses were destroyed, 41,500 houses suffered damage. Some bodies were never found or identified because of their proximity to the explosions. Others died from blast lung, an instant death caused by suffocation as all oxygen near the bombs was sucked out by the force of the blasts. A lady was brought in on a stretcher cuddling a baby. Both of them were dead. Not injured, no visible damage at all, caused by the blast. Dennis Adler Raging fires in the factories Getty Firemen in the Blitz. Before the war, many of the city’s factories had moved into war production. Car manufacturer Daimler had been manufacturing armoured troop cars.

All 15 acres of the site had been a target and the fire that raged as a result of the bombing was one of the biggest of the war in Britain. Firemen came from Solihull, Birmingham and as far away as Stoke-on-Trent. Firemen were not armed with the equipment we are used to today; they were fighting fires with stirrup pumps. Although there were two modern hydrants near the cathedral, these were not working effectively on the night of the Blitz. 6.10am The all clear finally sounds You need to have JavaScript enabled to view this clip. Animation set to stories taken from our own archives, first-hand accounts of the Blitz. Animation by Chris Oxenbury. The Bombing of Coventry in 1940 The Bombing of Coventry in 1940 The Bombing of Coventry in 1940 The Bombing of Coventry in 1940 The bombing of Coventry occurred on the night of 14 November 1940. Known as ‘Operation Moonlight Sonata’, more than 400 German bombers attacked Coventry, leaving a trail of destruction.

The city was bombed many times during World War Two , but the most devastating of these attacks happened on this night. Before World War Two, Coventry was one of the largest manufacturing and engineering cities in Britain and its factories supplied Britain’s military at the beginning of the war. Since many workers lived nearby to the factories, attacks on these buildings put the civilian population at risk too. The Germans meticulously planned for the raid on Coventry to ensure that all the targets were hit. They intended to create a firestorm in the city that would obliterate factories and hit the city’s residents morale. Churchill at the Cathedral The city was incredibly important to the war, but it was also poorly defended. It only had 40 anti-aircraft guns and 50 barrage balloons. It was hoped that the frequent fog that covered the city would be enough to defend the city. The night of 14 November was very cold and clear - the perfect conditions for a raid. At 7.10pm the first air raid sirens went off and pathfinder aircraft launched parachutes to mark their targets. This first wave of bombing caused more than 200 fires.

The first powerful bombs were dropped at 9.30pm, causing extensive damage and destroying phone lines and roads. This left Coventry cut off from the outside world. Although thousands of rounds were fired by the anti-aircraft guns, only one German bomber was shot down. The water mains were destroyed during the attack, so the firefighters only had limited water to put out the raging fires. By 11.50pm, a firestorm had engulfed St Michael’s Cathedral, completely gutting the building By 1.30am the flames could be seen 100 miles away. This created the perfect target for an additional wave of bombers. The bombing went on for 13 hours during the night. In total, 30,000 incendiaries along with 500 tons of high explosive bombs. In one night, more than 4,300 homes in Coventry were destroyed and around two-thirds of the city's buildings were damaged. When Mass Observation, a social research organisation, entered the city the following day, it claimed the city had experienced a “collective nervous breakdown”. This report angered the government as it also criticised the lack of provision for the homeless and bereaved.

It led the government to consider taking over the BBC, which commissioned ‘Mass Observation’. There can be little doubt that the city’s morale was severely damaged after the raid. With rumours of a second wave of attacks the following evening, around 100,000 people flocked to the countryside to escape the city. On 20 November, the first of two mass burials took place. In total 568 people were killed. Within two weeks of the bombing some factories had opened up. While food kitchens appeared, the city’s infrastructure had been severely damaged. Although people in the city were offered evacuation, only 300 took up the offer. The bombing of Coventry has incited some controversy. Historians believe that the Prime Minister Winston Churchill may have known about plans for the attack up to two days before they occurred, but failed to launch an evacuation of the city. His intelligence supposedly came from the scientists at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, who, in utmost secrecy, had cracked the Enigma code the Germans used for their military communications. From an intercepted message, they had discovered that the city was a target.

But warning the city of Coventry and its residents of the imminent threat would have alerted the Germans to the fact that their codes had been cracked and their security breached. Coventry (page 11) Sources and acknowledgements The National Archives, Kew, London ADM179/146: Orders for Operation "Medium": information on intelligence and communications, report of proceedings of HMS REVENGE (1940) AIR2/5238: Enemy Air Offensive against Great Britain (Code B, 45): Operation MOONLIGHT SONATA (bombing of Coventry) and counter-plan COLD WATER AIR2/7415: Fighter Command: Fighter interception during raid on Coventry on night of 14/15th Nov. 1940: report AIR8/352: Operations “Moonlight Sonata” and “Cold Water” AIR14/2905: “Headache”: progress reports Nos.

1–44 (July 1940–December 1942) AIR14/671: Operation "Medium": Bomber Command co-operation with Royal Navy (1940 Oct.–Nov.) AIR20/1046: Operation "Medium" (1940 Sept.–Oct.) AIR 22/481: Air Ministry W/T (Wireless Telegraphy) Intelligence Service Daily Summaries: nos. 425-454 Vol.6 (1940 Nov.) AIR27/188/22: Operations Record Book, No.

99 Squadron (1 September– 31 December 1940) AIR 27/958: Squadron Number 139, Summary of Events: Y (1 – 31 October 1940) AIR 27/963: Squadron Number 139, Appendices: Y (1 September 1939 – 31 December 1940) AIR29/602: Operations Record Book, Blind Approach Training and Development Unit/Wireless Intelligence Development Unit (1939 Sept.–1940 Oct.) AIR40/2401: Interrogation of German and Italian Prisoners of War: Reports 1940 Oct.–Nov. AIR40/2402: Interrogation of German and Italian Prisoners of War: Reports 1940 Nov.–Dec. AIR40/2336: RCM: 80 Wing Periodical Reports, 1940. AIR40/3071: CSDIC(UK) SRA Nos.

500–899 (incomplete) 11/9/40–12/11/40 AIR 40/3049: Report No 10: X-Gerï¿½t (German system of blind bombing) (1 January–31 December 1940) AIR40/3072: CSDIC(UK) SRA Nos.

900–1199 (incomplete) 3/11/40–28/1/41 AVIA7/131: Air Ministry Research Establishment, Worth Matravers, Swanage, Dorset: Programme of Research Work “Headache” (Part I) AVIA7/132: Air Ministry Research Establishment, Worth Matravers, Swanage, Dorset: Programme of Research Work “Headache” (Part II) HW5/5: Government Code and Cypher School: German Section: Reports of German Army and Air Force High Grade Machine Decrypts (CX/FJ, CX/JQ and CX/MSS Reports) Sept 12 1940–Oct 10 1940 HW5/6: ditto Oct 26 1940–Dec 2 1940 HW5/7: ditto Dec 3 1940–Jan 1 1941 HW5/719: "BROWN" reports — translations for Dr R V Jones (ADI Science) of traffic of LN Versuchsregiment, Koethen, relating to the setting up and operation of navigational beams

 (Knickebein) to guide Luftwaffe bombing raids (1940 Sept 5–1941 Mar 25) HW14/8: Government Code and Cypher School Policy Papers (November 1940) HW14/9: Government Code and Cypher School: Policy Papers (December 1940) Imperial War Museum, London and Bundesarchiv-Militï¿½rarchiv, Freiburg-im-Breisgau General Quartiermeister 6.

Abt. aircraft loss reports, November 1940 Web sources The bombing of Coventry in 1940 - History Learning Site The bombing of Coventry in 1940 Citation: C N Trueman "The bombing of Coventry in 1940" historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 20 Apr 2015. 16 Aug 2016. On the night of November 14th 1940, the Luftwaffe attacked Coventry. The bombing of Coventry was seen as the biggest test of British resolve up to this stage of the Blitz. Known as ‘Operation Moonlight Sonata’, over 400 bombers attacked Coventry that night and in the early morning of November 15th 1940. Coventry was an important engineering and manufacturing city before World War Two and the factories based there played an important part in supplying Britain’s military in the early months of the war. For example, Alvis made armoured cars while Aero manufactured important parts for the RAF.

Many of the workforce within the city lived very near to the factory they worked at, so any attack on the factories was bound to hit homes as well. The Luftwaffe had made a very thorough reconnaissance of the city and knew where the most important factories were. Planning for the raid on Coventry was equally as thorough as the Luftwaffe planned to be as destructive as was possible. Their plan was for a east to west flight over the city followed by a west to east attack. The intention was to create a firestorm within the city that would destroy factories and totally break the morale of the people there. The ultimate aim of the attack was to create such a feeling of shock that the government would sue for peace. Despite its importance as a manufacturing centre, Coventry was poorly defended against an aerial attack. Less than 40 anti-aircraft guns surrounded the city along with about 50 barrage balloons. One of the unofficial reasons put forward for this lack of defence was that the city was built in a natural dip which it was believed gave the city a natural defence against an aerial attack as at night, especially in the colder months, the city was covered with fog. The Luftwaffe planned to attack on the next full moon – November 14th.

British Intelligence knew a raid was planned to take place – but did not know where. The assumption was that London would be the target. The night of November 14th was very cold and also very clear as a result of the full moon. If it was true that the city’s defences were kept at a minimum because of a nightly blanket covering of fog, it was not to be on this night. The sirens first sounded in Coventry at 19.10. Pathfinder aircraft dropped parachute flares to mark the main targets. Incendiary bombs were dropped first. Many were booby-trapped so that when they exploded, hundreds of red-hot metal shards shot out. This first wave of bombings created over 200 fires. At 21.30, the first high explosive bombs were dropped. They caused extensive damage. By 22.30 Coventry was effectively cut off from the outside, as very few phone lines had survived the bombing and travel was very dangerous as fallen buildings blocked the roads. Not one German bomber was shot down despite thousands of anti-aircraft rounds being fired. During the raid and in the immediate aftermath, it is generally accepted that morale in the city came very close to collapsing.

“We were all cowering on the floor – sheer terror.” (Ilene Bees) “You stood there petrified.” Alan Hartley, ARP messenger during the raid. “First reaction was shock. The second reaction was ‘we’re not going to let those buggers get away with it.” Jean Taylor. The city’s fire fighters had to fight the many fires with a limited water supply as most of the mains had been shattered in the attack. By 23.50 the centuries old St Michael’s Cathedral had been destroyed. By 01.30 on November 15th, the flames were so intense they could be seen 100 miles away. It was a perfect target for the second wave of bombers that came in at that time. In total the bombing lasted for 13 hours. 500 tons of high explosive bombs were dropped along with 30,000 incendiaries. Later that day a team from ‘Mass Observation’ got into the city. As official reporters it was expected that any commentary on their films would follow accepted party lines – lots of damage but the spirit of the people is high; bombing will never dull the British bulldog nature etc.

However, in this instance, ‘Mass Observation’ reported that the city had suffered a “collective nervous breakdown”. It was reported that the survivors in the city attacked firemen for failing to stop the fires (even though they could not) and that police officers were also attacked. The government was so angered by this failure to stir the nation’s patriotism that it came close to taking over the BBC, which oversaw ‘Mass Observation’. By the time the attack was over, 75% of all buildings in the city were destroyed; 33% of all factories were destroyed and 50% of all homes. Most people had to exist without water, gas or electricity. While ‘Mass Observation’ had angered the government, it had spoken the truth. On the afternoon of November 15th, a rumour went round the city that a second attack was on the way. By night time, 100,000 people had fled the city for the surrounding countryside. Ilene Bees, who survived the bombing, remembered the “total despair” she and others felt within the city. There can be little doubt that the city was on the verge of collapsing from a morale point of view.

This is why the government was so angered by ‘Mass Observation’ – it feared that people in other cities might become distraught as a result of the belief that what had happened to Coventry might happen to their city. However, this whole mood of despair changed on November 16th when King George VI visited the city. Observers noted that within the space of a day – and linked to the visit – the ‘Bulldog Spirit’ that Churchill wanted to capture was very much in evidence. On November 20th, the first of two mass burials took place. In total 568 people were buried. While they were very sad and solemn affairs, people there noted an air of defiance, of not wanting to give in. Within two weeks of the bombing some factories had opened up. While food kitchens appeared, the basics of life had been severely disrupted – water, gas etc. People in the city were offered evacuation. However, only 300 took up the offer. The rest decided to stay in their city. The clear weather allowed the Luftwaffe to film the attack.

These films were used in propaganda films in Nazi Germany and the Nazis created a new ‘verb’, to coventrate, which was their reference to the mass bombing of the city. In later years when the RAF and the USAAF bombed cities in Nazi Germany, they used the words ‘coventration bombing’ to described their blanket bombing attacks.

Question: Operation "Moonlight Sonata" was a German air raid on which City in December 1940?
Answer: Coventry